16 June 2012

Changing allegiances...slowly.

How many of you have 'dual-boot' computers? Linux with Windows, or more specifically Windows with Ubuntu?

I have Ubuntu alongside Windows. I installed Ubuntu as a back-up OS, just in case something unspeakable happened to my beloved WinXP and I would want to recover my files, or even use my computer at all by the time I recovered Windows. I even gave it very less installation space: about 22G out of my total 160G hard drive!

However, as the days pass, I find myself booting into Windows less and less often. I simply select the first option at boot, Ubuntu, most of the time now. Thats because I can do (almost) everything in Ubuntu that I can do in Windows. I find it faster and less complicated to use and navigate. What's more, no viruses (yet)! And since I know Linux fairly well, I can customize the hell out of my system.

Sure you can play with a zillion small and silly apps in Windows, but I have no need for those: I've come to need only the standard stuff for everyday use.

Still, there are things that I like using better in Windows, and some that I can only do properly in Windows, but Ubuntu is catching up faster that I had expected. I just installed Skype for Ubuntu and I feel one step closer to removing my WinXP altogether.

Oh yes, sure. Ubuntu and its Gnome desktop grows on you. Making the switch from Windows is a big leap IMHO. I took my own sweet time to learn to like Ubuntu as my full-time OS. :-)So, I see what you mean. :-)However, I'm happy now to have a simpler and more efficient desktop, without losing any of the functionality. Just an added thought: if you have enough RAM, try Ubuntu with KDE desktop. I tried KDE4 long back and it just blows Windows out of the water. The version(s) after that have grown too big in size for me to install, as I have just 1G RAM.